Psychosis Or Normalcy

 

Luke is calmed by the use of watching movies or listening to music with his headset. It works wonders when his autism seems to be making him upset. How many of us do not have autism and are relaxed by music?

(Disclaimer: Original post written 12/2012). When I was growing up, mental illness was shunned.  We did not talk about it in my household.  The first time I was exposed to the  mentally ill was when I visited my two aunts at their job. They were nurses in a mental hospital for chronic patients in Kentucky.  As a young girl of 17, I was immediately drawn into the strangeness of this new world. ( Today a person would not be allowed to visit like I was able).

Boo—Back By Popular Demand!

Hey Friends,

Back by popular demand-the scariest post I have ever written.  I noticed my blog is blowing up with views.  It always does at this time of the year due to this particular fun post I wrote four years ago while working on genealogy projects!  It was a fun day.  BOO!

https://alesiablogs.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/the-haunting/

 

 

 

She

She looked down.  Not much reason to look up. 

Resigned to the fact nothing would change her circumstances, she only looked to the ground.  She did not expect to see victory in her despondent state. Dispirited and without much strength to try and change her circumstances, her eyes only stared at what was easy to look at in her moment of despair.  Ants.

They were carrying a load. Was it true ants could carry 20 times their own weight?  They had to be definitely female.  She also remembered the male ant’s primary job was mating and then it died off .  She chuckled. 

Looking back up, her mind was suddenly hit by the shocking truth yet again. This time with a smile on her face.  She was revitalized. Believing in herself with the ability like an ant, she gained the title of “strong woman.”  

Photos captured by Alesiablogs. Randomly selected. May not be related to writing, but intended to inspire. 
 
 

Stupid Blog Writing

I am driven to write. There is no exception even when unhappy with my words. I can not compare myself to those that have editors or proofreader’s to read their work before it is published.  I even hate freshly pressed endorsed by this platform.

Why do I write these days?  I received that lone comment that gives me pause.  Hearing from a woman dealing with two rare brain tumors brought tears to my eyes.  She seems to have a strong will and a determination in her spirit. If you are reading this, I am glad you decided to follow me.

A Clucking Good Time!

Who would have thought that taking a nice leisurely ride this weekend for eagle  watching would land us in a Chicken Parade?  As serendipity would have it, we arrived 30 minutes prior to when the big clucks were about to convene down the main street of Edison, Washington.

This chicken was on a mission!

Edison’s population is a whopping  135.  It was named after (you got it) the great inventor Thomas Edison.  The town had decided about four years ago to have their parade in conjunction with the winter hawk count.  This area is known for their bird habitat because of the second largest river in the area called the Skagit River.  It is a flat open delta which attracts birds of all kind.  In fact the count since started in 1989 has been close to 12,000!

The parade has begun!

We decided to stay  because I wondered how the heck could anyone make chickens walk in a parade.  We noticed the town’s two block street was filling up  quickly with folks lined up on both sides of the little road anxiously awaiting the guests of honors. People dressed up in chicken outfits began their reconnaissance mission of making sure the street was ready for all the excitement.  Even dogs were invited for the big day.

Our Dog Stanny was a little nervous to say the least. He just didn’t understand why their was such a fuss about something that he could “gobble” down with one chomp!

 

Blue the Chihuahua watched very intently as the excitement passed him. He could hardly contain himself…Can you tell?

At approximately 12 noon the parade began.  By 1210 pm it was all done!  It was the greatest 10 minutes of my afternoon too.  To be involved in the great annual chicken parade is hard to describe.  I guess my pictures will have to do the talking, but I was real glad we made it even if it was a complete surprise!

Happy Cluckers to all of my readers!

 

Flip-Flops And Life

I am a 70’s girl stuck in 2014. How do I learn to belong? Can you pick me out?

Running late for my dental appointment, I grab my socks and I thought my shoes. As I start the engine and travel down the road, I realize the shoes were a figure of my crazy imagination.
Laughing out loud to no one but myself, I don’t turn around. Frozen in time, I look down to my bare feet and think who cares?
I could say I don’t care about shoes and I do not care to choose, but reality is I was in a hurry.

“Alesia, put something on your feet if you are going out to play!” Living in Hawaii–who cares, right.
“Ok, mom,” As I run out with flip-flops in my hands and no socks. The flip-flops never made it to my feet usually.
It was 1971 and who gave a you know what about shoes. We lived in Hawaii and we just wanted to have fun and playing with the other kids without shoes on was the norm.
Those were the days. No one held this girl down. No shoes for sure did. Being on your own time and really no time source to tell me different made me feel like nothing could go wrong. Reminiscing of the days of old, I still realize how I loved those old days. Backing up in my mind, everything was going my way. I could do whatever I wanted to do.

“Damn.” I said to myself realizing I was not going to turn around for my shoes just because I was going to the dentist. You could call it crazy, but I called it freedom and memory freezing even if just for the 15 minute drive. The sun was beaming down on my car hood and it was just a beautiful day. Who cares if I have any shoes? I sure did not. After all I am just an American woman wanting to mess with your mind and show up barefoot.

Oh..That’s where those flip-flops ended?

“Alesia, time for supper. Come in before your food gets cold!” Man, moms know how to mess up a good tether ball tournament going on with my friends on the Barracks we lived in. All the children I played with hovered around that ball and string.
“Ok, mom!” I shouted. My friends were so kind. They crowned me the champion for the evening tether ball match. I took that championship home with me with a big smile on my face. Walking into the house, my mom looks at my dirty 9-year-old feet. OOPS!!!! No flip-flops on.

Walking into the dentist office and then sitting into the chair, my dental hygienist does not even notice I am barefooted.
She starts talking about some old man’s world book series where men would turn into young men and become super heroes.
Geez, I felt like a super hero just then. I got caught outside without my shoes on and no one cared!

Honolulu 1971. Ahhh! The life.

1973

Growing up in Hawaii and lasting memories from a little girl. Come along for the ride and see where we land!

1973 was the year. It was when I had my first crush. Jamie and I had a lot in common. We were both brunettes. He was small and so was I. He loved playing sports and so did I. He was 10 years old and so was I. He was shy and so was I. Ok. That last statement was not true.
Memories are a powerful thing. It is a wonder why we pick certain people over others to be “interested” in. The funny thing is how does someone know what a crush really is at the age of ten? Furthermore, when we grow up, why would a woman pick just one guy out of a lineup of several she could choose from? I mean think about it. Many times we women go for the no-good lazy bum from the wrong side of the tracks. But I digress.
Jamie was the perfect boy. He really was such a sweet person, but the truth is I do not think he really noticed me. That was Ok because really I knew I was just not quite ready to date. After all, I wasn’t even out of my first decade of life.
Seriously, it is fun thinking back on 41 years ago and realizing maybe some things never change. No one could ever compete with little Jamie. He is the “one” that got away.
Have you ever heard of the saying, “When one door closes, another one opens up.” It dawned on me that those early years of my life were like the changing seasons we have every few months. April is always a beautiful time back in my home town. Spring is on its way. Almost overnight, I can see the azaleas, gardenias, and honeysuckle blooming. It is a site for sore eyes. If I could paint you a picture, we would see vibrant colors everywhere. We would see the changes season to season and perhaps even minute to minute. The colors would be glorious with different shades of green, yellow, blue, and pink. I would not forget the birds and the trees surrounding the beautiful landscape of flowers. What vibrant colors we could share.
That is what I yearn for now. Simplicity. Keeping things simple and full of hope should be what life is all about. Leaning on our memories and learning from them is quite possibly why God gives us so many second chances. Why does he keep repeating the seasons? Do you ever wonder why there are only four seasons? Why aren’t there six or eight? Maybe deep down we yearn for familiarity and traditions along with a small element of surprise once in a while. I think that is why I think about 1973. It was a simple life. I did not care if Jamie liked me or not. I just knew he was such a great sight to look at in 1973.  He had really done it for this little girl.

Where Are You? What Are You Doing?

Gardening is a therapeutic experience for me.

You ever wish you could see into the internet and peek at your internet Word press friends in real life? I was just really thinking about you guys today. This summer has been going fast in some ways and slower in others. Since my spring vacation to Hawaii, we have not been anywhere. However, living in Seattle does make for many fun days in the summer time. Our weather has been phenomenal this year. In fact no rain for 40 days for you disbelievers out there that think it rains all the time in Seattle!

This summer has been spent in quiet contemplation at times, driving with one of my sons who wants to get his license (hence quiet contemplation keeps my nerves in check), gardening, and many other small projects that add up to more than 24 hours in a day. Heck, I am not complaining. It is my belief we were put on this earth to stay busy and productive. So I guess that is what I am doing. Yeah. The yeah is for my 16-year-old who says that about thirty million times a day.

For you gardener friends, my yard has brought me much joy this year. I actually am not really a green thumb, but I did take some time and worked very hard to get my yard in better shape. I wish I had a before photo to show you because you would not have believed the mess. These photos I am sharing show off some of my hard work, but there is so much more to do. How are all of you all doing and better yet what have some of you been up to?

Normalcy

The state of being normal as defined by cuddling with my furry friend and breathing a bit slower this week. May we look at our animal friends today and thank them for their unconditional love. I don’t know about you, but when I spend time with my Linus- I laugh more!

Men Part II

My youngest son having fun with my post op ace wrap after surgery.

My youngest son sharing the love!

Elijah and Linus!

Your blogger and her family thinking in the rain about my next blog post!

It is once again time to bring up some “men” issues. It was not so long ago, men were my topic as duly noted here https://alesiablogs.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/men/ and believe me this woman made note of her men problems. Today is yet another time to bring the subject up. Here are my 5 tips to living with men:
1. Just let them have the damn remote control.
2. Make a specialty wall just for their baseball caps.
3. Let farting techniques become a contest in the home.
4. Give everyone their space ( this comes in handy during farting contests).
5. Let them know they are loved all the time.
Today was a “softie” list as I look at my family and can not believe the miracle I see in my home. My house would just be empty without the sound of my men.